How To Handle Gunman In the Workplace

No matter where you work or go to school, if gunman opens fire, it can be a deadly situation. An upcoming class may be the key to prepare you for a worst case scenario.

"A lot of what I find is people think, 'that can't happen here. That can only happen a long distance away,'" Ladd McCluskey, a Safety Consultant and owner of LMC Workplace Safety Training, said.

Shootings can happen anywhere and that is why McCluskey wants everyone who takes the class at his Humboldt business to be proactive. McCluskey said this class, held on February 4, is not a reaction to the deadly incident in Newtown, CT. Although that topic that has been on a lot of people's minds.

"Right in the middle of setting up dates the whole Newtown thing happened. Again, a tragedy. Rather than look at it as a tragedy, what we need to do is make sure those things don't happen again," McCluskey said.

He has brought in Stefan Salmonson from PROtective Services, INC. Salmonson's work policy does not allow him to be on camera, but he has a long history of teaching safety plans to companies in the region and across the country.

"We can't hope for the best anymore," Salmonson said.

If you hear gunshots in your office, Salmonson shares four steps that could help you stay safe. Step one: if you can, lock the doors; step two: block the windows; step three: shut off the lights; step four: hide.

"See what we're doing? We're making you much less of a target," Salmonson said.

He knows this is not for every scenario and he teaches many other ways to react to a shooter in the workplace. The whole point of this class is to have a plan in place that would help protect you against this type of violence.

"How is your building configured? How are your offices configured? Who sits closest to the door? As you can see, it's not one narrow slice of a topic," Salmonson said.

We may not like to think about situations like Newtown, but both men said merely thinking about what to do and making a plan is essential.

"To have people really wake up and see what's going on," McCluskey said.